Communication paths from an InfiniBand host
View Patent ↗A method and apparatus are provided for selecting an optimal communication path between an IB computer and a non-IB computer. All gateways that join the network multicast their presence on the network. The data associated with the multicast transmission are retained by each member of the network in the associated cache. The retained multicast data is leveraged to select an optimal transmission protocol between the host and target computers, and a gateway configured to support the selected transmission protocol.
1. A method for determining a communication path on a computer network, comprising:
configuring a computer network with an Infini Band (IB) configured host computer in communication across said network with a non-IB configured target computer;
providing said network with at least two separate gateways in communication with said host and target computers, a first of said gateways being an Internal Protocol over Infini Band (IPoIB) gateway and a second of said gateways being an Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) Extensions for Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) (iSER) gateway, wherein each gateway defines a separate communication path from the host to the target;
determining an address of said target computer;
selecting one of said gateways to communicate data from said host computer to said target computer based upon said determined address of said target, including:
sending a request to said first and second gateways, receiving a response from said gateways, and
determining an optimal communication protocol to use based upon said received response; and
contacting said target computer over said selected gateway using a remote direct memory access protocol if said target computer and one of said gateways is configured to accept said remote direct memory access protocol.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising contacting said target computer over a local IPoIB subnet if said address of said target computer is on said local IPoIB subnet.
3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising said first and second gateways multicasting their presence on said network in communication with said host computer on boot, wherein said multicast is selected from the group consisting of: an IB multicast absent IPoIB, and an IPoIB multicast.
4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the step of said gateways multicasting their presence on boot enables said host computer to store gateway data in host cache.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein said gateway response includes data selected from the group consisting of: whether said gateway can reach said target, type of gateway, Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) support to said target, quantity of hops to said target, bandwidth to said target, IP address of a port of said gateway, and combinations thereof.
6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising contacting said target computer over said selected gateway using an iSCSI if gateways are configured to reject said remote direct memory access protocol.
7. A computer system comprising:
an Infini Band (IB) configured host computer in communication with an Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) configured target computer across a network;
at least two gateways in communication with said host computer and said target computer, wherein each gateway defines a separate communication path from the host to the target, and wherein a first of said gateways is an Internet Protocol over Infini Band (IPoIB) gateway and a second of said gateways is an Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) Extensions for Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) (iSER);
a manager to select one of said gateways to communicate data from said host computer to said target computer based upon an address of said target computer on said network, wherein said selection includes a request message sent to said gateways from said host computer, a response message communicated to said host computer from said gateways, and a determination of an optimal gateway and communication protocol for communication with said target based upon said response message; and
a transmission manager to contact said target computer over said selected gateway using a remote direct memory access protocol if said target computer and one of said gateways is configured to accept said remote direct memory access protocol.
8. The system of claim 7 , further comprising said transmission manager to contact said target computer over a local Internal Protocol over Infini Band (IPoIB) subnet if said address of said target computer is on said local IPoIB subnet.
9. The system of claim 7 , further comprising a multicast message transmitted by said gateways on boot of said host computer to broadcast presence of said gateways on said network, wherein said multicast is selected from the group consisting of: an IB multicast absent IPoIB, and an IPoIB multicast.
10. The system of claim 9 , further comprising host computer cache to store said multicast message.
11. The system of claim 7 , wherein said gateway response includes data selected from the group consisting of: whether said gateway can read said target computer, type of gateway, Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) support to said target, quantity of hops to said target, bandwidth to said target, IP address of a port of said gateway, and combinations thereof.
12. The system of claim 7 , further comprising said transmission manager to contact said target computer over said selected gateway using an iSCSI if said gateways are configured to reject said remote direct memory access protocol.
13. An article comprising:
a computer network with an Infini Band (IB) configured host computer in communication across a network with an Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) configured target computer, said network having at least two separate gateways in communication with said host and target computers, a first of said gateways being an Internal Protocol over Infini Band (IPoIB) gateway and a second of said gateways being an Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) Extensions for Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) (iSER) gateway, wherein each gateway defines a separate communication path from the host to the target;
a tangible computer readable carrier including computer program instructions configured to determine a communication path on said network, comprising;
instructions to determine an address of said target computer;
instructions to select an optimal gateway to communicate data from said host computer to said target computer based upon said determined address of said target, including:
sending a request to said first and second gateways, receiving a response from said gateways, and
determining an optimal gateway to use based upon said received response; and
instructions to cause communication with said target computer over said selected gateway using a remote direct memory access protocol if said target computer and one of said gateways is configured to accept said remote direct memory access protocol.
14. The article of claim 13 , further comprising instructions to contact said target computer over a local IPoIB subnet if said address of said target computer is on said local IPoIB subnet.
15. The article of claim 13 , further comprising said first and second gateways having instructions to multicast their presence on said network in communication with said host computer on boot, wherein said multicast is selected from the group consisting of: an IB multicast absent IPoIB, and an IPoIB multicast.
16. The article of claim 15 , wherein the instructions to multicast presence of said gateways on boot enables said host computer to store gateway data in host cache.
17. The article of claim 13 , wherein said gateway response includes data selected from the group consisting of: whether said gateway can read said target computer, type of gateway Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) support to said target, quantity of hops to said target, bandwidth to said target, Internet Protocol (IP) address of a port of said gateway, and combinations thereof.
18. The article of claim 13 , further comprising instructions to contact said target computer over said selected gateway using an iSCSI if gateways are configured to reject said remote direct memory access protocol.
19. A method for determining a communication path on a computer network, comprising:
configuring a computer network with a host computer in communication across said network with a target computer;
providing said network with at least two separate gateways in communication with said host and target computers, wherein each gateway defines at least two separate communication paths from the host to the target, and wherein a first of said gateways is an Internet Protocol over Infini Band (IPoIB) gateway and a second of said gateways is an Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) Extensions for Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) (iSER);
determining an address of said target computer;
selecting one of said gateways to communicate data from said host computer to said target computer based upon said determined address of said target, including:
sending a request to said first and second gateways, receiving a response from said gateways, and
determining an optimal communication protocol to use based upon said received response; and
contacting said target computer over said selected gateway using a remote direct memory access protocol if said target computer and one of said gateways is configured to accept said remote direct memory access protocol.